


Day 5: White Christmas & Monopoly

by VampireVengence



Series: Avengers Advent [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel, Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Awkwardness, Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Snow, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, Missing Christmas, Monopoly (Board Game), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Protective Steve, Snow, Snowed In
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 18:42:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8764639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampireVengence/pseuds/VampireVengence
Summary: After a mission goes wrong Steve, Tony and Bucky are forced to spend christmas together in a SHIELD safehouse.





	

They remained silent as they trudged uphill towards the safehouse. The atmosphere was tense and uncomfortable but Tony had no desire to change that. He was quite content to remain silent and make it clear how very pissed off about this whole situation. _Stupid asshole could have gotten us all killed._

 

It turned out that Steve was now doing this whole rogue vigilante thing since he was not longer an Avenger and was technically a fugitive. He didn't really have many options but he couldn't seem to stop himself from fighting what he deemed to be the good fight. Taking down Hydra one base at a time, and trying to find a cure for his best friend along the way. Tony had to admire his dedication and persistence even if it was a lost cause. There was no magic cure all for the Winter Soldier, that much was inherently obvious. Well to everyone but Steve anyway. 

 

Unfortunately for Tony this new path Steve had decided to take had lead him right into the way of an Avengers mission to get some delicate information and destroy the base. He'd manage to fuck them over quite spectacularly by getting in the way and just being a general pain in the ass whilst they tried to get what they needed. 

 

It had also lead to Tony getting split up from the rest of the team whilst saving Steve's sorry ass from getting blown up as they'd destroyed the base. He'd been pretty pissed off at that because he hadn't had the chance to go in and raid the archives for anything related to the Winter Soldier. 

 

The blast had knocked out Tony's comms so with no way of getting into contact with everyone he'd made the decision to just head up to the safe house. It was the in case of emergency's meeting place so Tony figured it was the best bet. They'd figure it out right? The only issue now was that Steve had decided to invite himself along for the ride which of course meant Bucky was coming too and Tony really wasn't prepared for any of of this. As a result he'd decided to just ignore their existence.

 

Steve was obviously as pissed as Tony because he hadn't even tried to talk to Tony, not that Tony cared. He didn't _want_ to talk with Steve, he really didn't. He wanted to punch him in his stupid face but he sure as hell didn't want to _talk_ to him. _Tense, angry silence it is then._

 

"It's going to snow." Bucky said absently, looking up the sky. He was tense and alert with eyes darting all over the place and silent movements that came with being an assassin. "What's the matter Tinman? Afraid you'll rust?" Tony snapped, not bothering to look around. "Shut up Stark." Steve snapped. Glaring at the side of his head. _Oh it's on._

 

Tony turned to face him, anger bubbling up inside him. "You wanna go Rogers? Then take a swing because I am done with your shit. You think you're some righteous hero saving the world? All you're doing is getting in the way and nearly getting yourself and everyone else killed." Steve didn't even flinch at him words. Bucky seemed to take a step back, trying to shrink away from the impending explosion. "What would you know about being a hero? You can't see past your own damn ego long enough to do something that isn't gonna benefit you in some way." _Kettle meet pot._

 

"And what do you call what you're doing huh? Being a hero is about making difficult decisions, about working for the greater good, saving the world. Nothing you're doing here fits in with any of that! So you've taken out a few Hydra bases along the way, well done. Good for you. Just don't pretend like you're doing this for anyone other than yourself!" 

"This isn't about me." Steve tried to argue but Tony wasn't gonna let him get out of this. "You want him back so badly you'll do anything to find what you want. Well news flash, it's not gonna happen! You think you can find some magic cure that's just gonna get rid of everything Hydra did to him? You're not! He's a car crash Steve, no amount of good deeds is gonna change that." 

 

Steve looked ready to punch him as he stepped closer, mouth twisted up in snarl. "He's right Stevie." Bucky surprised them both by speaking up. "You can't fix me." 

 

Tony had never seen someone's emotions change so quickly. Steve went from pissed off snarl to sympathetic, upset best friend faster than Pietro could run. "Come on Buck, don't say that. We can fix this."   
"No." Bucky argued. "This is on me, you can't fix everything Steve." Tony didn't think he'd ever seen the good Captain truly at a loss for words before. "Now are we going to this safe house or not? I don't fancy being stuck out here all night with you two at each others throats." No one could really argue with that. 

 

It was just starting to get dark when they finally arrived. On the outside the building could easily be mistaken for a wooden chalet or a ski hut but once you stepped inside it was as well equipped and teched up as SHIELD's helicarrier. 

 

"Jarvis, run diagnostics on the suit. I need to get the comms up and running asap." Tony ordered as he stepped out of the suit. It was pretty banged up, Steve couldn't help but notice. "Scanning now Sir." 

 

Tony did his best to ignore the pair of super soldiers as he went around flicking switches and turning on equipment. He didn't know how long it would be until the others showed up so he needed to make sure he could occupy himself for as long as necessary. If Tony was busy it was less likely that he and Steve would kill each other before they arrived. 

 

It was a couple hours later and Bucky and Steve were still partaking in what seemed to be a rather heated whispered discussion. Tony had bitten back his comment about whispering being rude on the grounds that he didn't actually want to be part of the conversation and that he was supposed to be busy and therefor not paying attention to them and therefore not commenting on things that he was totally unaware of due to his busyness. Besides Jarvis was still running diagnostics on the suit so he couldn't afford to get into a grudge match with two super soldiers right now. 

 

"For god sake Steve just tell him!" Bucky barked in frustration and okay there was no way Tony could just ignore that. He briefly glanced over at them only to find them glaring at each other totally ignoring him anyway. Bucky was obviously frustrated and done with whatever it was they were talking about and Steve was pissed off at Bucky for whatever his opinion on the matter was. Not that Tony cared, nope not one little bit. 

 

Out of nowhere all the machine's turned themselves off and the lights went out. Both Bucky and Steve turned to look at Tony instantly. "Jarvis?" Because this one was definitely not Tony's fault. No way was he taking the blame for this, and he could already feel Steve giving him the stink eye. "It appears that the power has been knocked out by the poor weather conditions Sir." Jarvis informed them all. "Can't we get the backup generator going?" Steve piped up. "I'm afraid the back up generator is no longer functioning. You can thank Agent Barton for that, there was an incident during his last stay here." Tony rolled his eyes. "And no one's bothered to fix it."   
"It would appear not Sir." Tony sighed and once again cursed the inadequacy of SHIELD. "Isn't this place hooked up to the Stark network?" At this point all SHIELD facilities were supposed to be hooked up to the Arc Reactor power grid but he wasn't sure he trusted SHIELD to have followed up on that one. "It is on the list of building still needing to be transferred over to the new power grid." _Well fuck._  

 

"If it's any consolation Sir, Miss Potts has requested I inform you that she wishes you a Merry Christmas for tomorrow. She also urges you not to do anything overly stupid. She has a big enough backlog of paperwork without you adding to it." Tony couldn't help but grin at that. "Thanks Jay."

 

Despite they're many flaws, SHIELD were prepared for everything. Tony couldn't help but be a little bit grateful as he pulled some blankets and bedding from a cupboard. It didn't look like they were getting out of here any time soon. He left a pile for the other two to sort out amongst themselves before making up a blanket nest on the couch. He probably wasn't going to get to sleep any time soon but at least he was comfortable and had an excuse to not talk to them. 

 

"I'm sorry." Tony jumped in surprise, apparently sleep hadn't been so hard to find after all. He glanced up to find Bucky staring down at him from where he'd found a perch on the window ledge, the moonlight silhouetting him elegantly. Tony stayed quiet, watching the shadows of snowflakes dancing on the floor. "I know it doesn't make a difference." Bucky continued, voice barely above a whisper. "And I know Steve will say it wasn't my fault but that doesn't change what I did." Tony didn't really know how to respond to that. 

 

"You're dad was a good guy." Bucky sighs when it becomes apparent that Tony isn't going to talk. "Helped us out a bit in the war. I never met your ma but I'm sure she was great too." _Okay this conversation is over._ "You finished?" Tony snapped. He really wasn't up for a heart to heart right now about his parents with the guy who murdered them. 

 

"He misses you, ya know." He said instead, catching Tony off guard. "Steve." He clarified because apparently the confusion is showing on Tony's face in his sleep deprived state. "Not that he'd ever admit it." Tony doesn't have an answer for that either. 

 

"Where is Steve?" Tony asked instead, because he'd only just noticed that he's not there but it's suddenly pretty damn obvious because let's face it, Bucky wouldn't be saying any of this if he had been.  "Went to take a leak." Bucky muttered. 

 

They lapsed into an uncomfortable silence but it wasn't all that long before Steve soon returned. "Wow I left you alone together for five minutes and no one's dead. Well done guys." Steve says dryly causing them both to roll their eyes. It's probably the longest and most civil interaction they've shared all day. 

 

When Tony woke up again it's to the morning light streaming in from the window. Bucky appeared to have dozed off at his perch and Tony's pretty sure that can't be comfortable. He shifted slightly on the couch and Bucky jolted to attention, body tense and alert as his eyes darted around the room, checking for danger. Tony felt a moment of incredulity at how light a sleeper the guy was before just shaking his head. The guy clearly had a lot of shit to work through.

 

He stretched out, ignoring the way Bucky instantly zero's in on the movement, before going in search of coffee. He was pretty sure SHIELD had a stash of instant stuff somewhere. He flicked a few switches whilst on his way but the power had yet to return. 

 

Steve woke up to a high pitched whistling sound that instantly put him on high alert as he jumped to his feet. "Relax Stevie, hot water's not gonna hurt you." Steve blinked in utter disbelief because 1) Bucky actually had the nerve to tell _him_ to relax. And 2) He was totally unprepared for the seen in front of him. Tony and Bucky were sat around the fireplace boiling water in an old metal kettle in order to make coffee. "Still no power?" Tony rolled his eyes. "No, there is. We just thought we'd make shitty instant coffee like cavemen for the fun of it." Steve couldn't help but notice the smirk that tugged at the corner of Bucky's mouth but swallowed any comment. It was good to see Bucky happy.

 

"Sir it seems the comms system is back online. Director Fury is trying to contact you." Bucky jolted in shock once again at the disembodied voice that he didn't hope to even begin to understand. "Patch him through Jay." Tony replied, not taking his eyes off his suit which he was currently reparing as best he could with the limited tool he had. 

 

"Mr Stark." Fury greeted him. "We've been looking for you." Tony rolled his eyes. "Not very hard apparently. We're at the nearest safehouse to the Hydra base."   
"We?" There was a sharpness to Fury's tone that meant he'd been surprised, Tony always enjoyed hearing it. "I picked up a few strays." He said dismissively, only half paying attention anyway. 

 

"I've been informed that the good Captain was spotted at the sight. Do we have any idea what his intentions were?" Suddenly all eyes were on Tony and it was making him uncomfortable. "I think we can make a pretty good guess." Both soldiers release their breath, apparently Tony's not a total asshole after all. Fury only hummed in agreement. 

 

"So about my rescue." Tony began, because that was definitely the most important thing right now. "I'm afraid you're just going to have to hang in there." Tony frowned in annoyance and confusion. Surely Fury couldn't be _that_ much of a dick. "Excuse me-" Tony began but Fury cut him off. "Stark have you actually looked out of a window recently?" Tony couldn't say he had. 

 

"ебать" Bucky supplied and Tony only knew he was swearing from all the years spent hanging around Natasha. They all turned to see that the snow had come up as high as the window. "What in the hell was that?" Fury demanded but Tony found him all to easy to ignore. "It's up as high as the window!" Fury only hummed in agreement once more. "Now you see why you have to wait?" 

"No." Tony huffed. 

 

"Think about it Stark. If it's that high where you are then it's that high everywhere. We can't just come crashing in their with helicopters and machines, it could cause an avalanche. Then we really would have a problem." Tony really hated him when he was right. "We'll get to you as soon as we can." He told them unhelpfully before they hears the familiar click of the comms switching off. "Well this wasn't how I planned on spending Christmas." Steve sighed, leaning back against the couch and covering his face with his arms. Tony was inclined to agree with him on that. 

 

The hours seemed to drag on forever in the silence. Once the suit had been patched up as best as it could given the situation Tony was itching to get into something, anything! He hated just sitting idle, he really couldn't handle being bored. 

 

It seemed he wasn't the only one though. Steve returned to the living room with a triumphant grin on his face and a box in his hand. "I have the solution." He declared as he dropped down onto the floor between the couches. "A miniature snow plough?" Tony offered with a sigh, gaining him a withered look. "Steve is now really the time for Monopoly?" Bucky's expression was grim with impending doom and Tony couldn't see how that was at all relevant _or_ solutionish. 

 

"Do you have a better idea?" Steve countered. "We don't know how long we're gonna be here and we can't just sit here and stare at the walls, we'll kill each other before long." Tony couldn't disagree with that and judging by his expression neither could Bucky. In Tony's experience Monopoly never ended well. 

 

When Agents Coulson and Hill were finally able to get to the door of the safehouse it was starting to get dark. They paused before entering at the sound of raised voices. Both pulled a gun before they kicked in the door, weapons raised. Neither were prepared for the scene that greeted them.

 

Tony Stark was lounging casually on the floor watching the chaos as Captain America and the Winter Soldier stood yelling at each other, oblivious to their arrival. A board game lay discarded on the floor between the three men. "Agents." Tony said casually, nodding in their direction. 

 

As they lowered their weapons, expressions perplexed, they were joined by Fury who was far from impressed with what he could see. "Stark!" Fury began catching everyone's attention but Tony simply smiled and got to his feet. He headed towards them and patted Nick's shoulder, smirking slightly. "Merry Christmas." He said before exiting the building and leaving them to deal with the mess inside.


End file.
